Events Archive

CNHRA-E-490110

2012-08-15 — 2012-11-20 · Chongqing

Represented by Pu and another lawyer, Ren challenged his reeducation-through-labor order. The committee revoked it on November 19, 2012, but the court dismissed the suit the next day as late-filed.

CNHRA-E-878735

2019-10 · Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

Huang was detained in October 2019, reportedly placed under residential surveillance at a designated location on November 4 and released in 2020.

CNHRA-E-418583

1978 · Beijing, China

Wei published The Fifth Modernization: Democracy in December 1978, received a fifteen-year sentence on October 16, 1979 and was released on parole in September 1993.

CNHRA-E-268838

1994 · Beijing; departure for the United States in 1997

Detained again in 1994 and sentenced to fourteen years in 1995, Wei received the Sakharov Prize in prison in 1996 and left for the United States on medical parole on November 16, 1997.

CNHRA-E-104097

1989 · Beijing, China

Following participation in the 1989 student movement, Wang received four years in 1991 and parole in 1993. Asia Watch’s contemporary report records the sentence and restrictions on observation of related Beijing trials.

CNHRA-E-818867

1995-05-21 · Beijing; later medical travel to the United States

Wang was detained again in May 1995, sentenced to eleven years in October 1996, and sent to the United States for medical evaluation in April 1998, where he issued a statement. The record cites a public indictment translation and contemporaneous reports.

CNHRA-E-442758

1989-06-03 · Beijing, China

After Jiang Jielian’s death on June 3, 1989, Ding sought other families and preserved testimony, helping develop the Tiananmen Mothers’ documentation and mutual-support network. The record covers family testimony, public appeals and later correspondence.

CNHRA-E-203500

2006-12-22 · Beijing and Xinjiang, China

Gao received a three-year sentence suspended for five years in 2006. The suspension was revoked in 2011, and he completed the sentence in August 2014. China’s 2025 reply recounts these proceedings.

CNHRA-E-680632

2017-08-13 · China; current whereabouts after loss of contact not independently established

After family reports of Gao’s disappearance in August 2017, Special Procedures sought information that September and again in 2025. The government denied enforced disappearance; the cited reply does not supply independently verifiable current contact information.

CNHRA-E-089607

2005-04 · Linyi, Shandong, China

Following investigation of coercive family-planning allegations in Linyi, Chen faced restrictions and a four-year-three-month sentence in 2006. The original judgment was overturned and remanded, and he completed his sentence in 2010. The UN opinion separately assesses different detention stages.

CNHRA-E-693454

2010-09 · Linyi, Shandong, China

After completing his sentence in 2010, Chen remained confined at home. He escaped on April 22, 2012 and reached the United States with his family on May 19. UN Special Procedures asked China about reported threats and detention affecting relatives and helpers.

CNHRA-E-559198

2013-04 · Beijing, China

Opinion No. 30/2021 recounts Ding’s detention in April 2013 in connection with New Citizens Movement activities, a three-and-a-half-year sentence and release in 2016. His post-2019 case is linked separately to the Xu Zhiyong proceedings.

CNHRA-E-696275

2011 · China; the 2011 communication records the detention location as unclear

HRW records Teng’s reappearance on April 29, 2011 after 69 days out of contact. His 2017 hearing testimony recounts professional, travel and detention restrictions and pressure on relatives; personal testimony and institutional reporting are attributed separately.

CNHRA-E-991477

2014-05 · Beijing, China

Detained after a private commemoration in 2014, Pu was sentenced on December 22, 2015 to three years, suspended for three years, over online comments. He received a disbarment decision in 2016.

CNHRA-E-517617

2015-08-03 · Tianjin, Shandong and Beijing, China

Wang was detained in 2015, tried in a closed hearing in 2018 and sentenced to four and a half years in 2019. He did not immediately reunite with family after leaving prison in April 2020; a May publication of his wife’s letter confirmed his return home.

CNHRA-E-727298

2017-07-07 · Beijing and Tianjin, China

Li sought access to Wang Quanzhang and information about his whereabouts, supported other families and marched in 2018. Her 2020 letter confirmed reunion; later reports document displacement and disrupted schooling.

CNHRA-E-053530

2016-11 · Changsha, Hunan, China

Jiang was taken into custody in November 2016 and sentenced to two years in 2017. A government reply records sentence completion on February 28, 2019. UN Opinion No. 62/2018 concerns the detention and procedural safeguards then under review.

CNHRA-E-855372

2015-07 · Tianjin, China

Li was detained in July 2015, tried in a closed hearing in 2017 and received three years suspended for four years, returning home on May 10. Organizations raised concerns about prolonged denial of contact with family and retained counsel.

CNHRA-E-631235

2014-01-15 · Urumqi, Xinjiang, China

Tohti received life imprisonment on separatism-related charges in September 2014, upheld that November. In 2025, Special Procedures again sought information on visits and health; the government replied that he was serving his sentence at Xinjiang No. 1 Prison with his rights protected.

CNHRA-E-136707

2000-06-05 · Chengdu, Sichuan, China

Huang was detained over online publication in 2000 and sentenced to five years in 2003. The UN Working Group found the examined detention arbitrary under category II in 2004.

CNHRA-E-454208

2008-06-10 · Chengdu, Sichuan, China

Huang was detained in Chengdu in June 2008 after investigating collapsed schools, tried in a closed hearing in August 2009 and sentenced to three years that November. HRW criticized state-secrets law and trial procedure.

CNHRA-E-723999

2016-11 · Mianyang and Bazhong, Sichuan, China

Huang was detained again in 2016, sentenced to twelve years on state-secrets charges in 2019 and appealed. A 2025 government reply supplies the appellate outcome and prison location; Special Procedures raised concerns about medical care, treatment and visits.

CNHRA-E-100979

2020-02 · Wuhan and Shanghai, China

Zhang reported from Wuhan in 2020, was arrested, prosecuted and sentenced to four years that year, and completed the sentence in May 2024. Allegations concerning hunger strike, forced feeding and health are attributed to information received by Special Procedures.

CNHRA-E-020709

2024-08-29 · Shanghai, China

The government reply records renewed criminal measures on August 29, 2024, a four-year sentence on September 19, 2025, an appeal dismissed on October 27 and transfer to Shanghai Women’s Prison. Special Procedures had raised concerns about the closed hearing and loss of contact.

CNHRA-E-331104

2020-02-16 · Beijing and Linyi, Shandong, China

Li was detained in 2020, taken into custody again and formally arrested in 2021, and sentenced to three years and eight months in 2024. Front Line Defenders later records an appeal dismissed in July and return home after sentence completion on August 3.

CNHRA-E-593835

2021-09-19 · Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

Huang and Wang Jianbing were detained in September 2021. Huang received a five-year sentence in 2024, upheld on appeal. The Rights Practice’s October 5, 2026 update records her release on September 18.

CNHRA-E-068500

2015-07-09 · Beijing (loss of contact); detention location not independently established

Wang lost contact on July 9, 2015, and was placed under residential surveillance at a designated location. Her family received formal-arrest notice in January 2016. An August recording announced bail, but lawyers and friends subsequently still lacked direct contact.

CNHRA-E-553884

1989 · Shaoyang, Hunan, China

Li received thirteen years for labor organizing in 1989 and was subsequently released on medical grounds. Detained again in 2001, he received ten years and completed that sentence in May 2011.

CNHRA-E-671773

2012-06-06 · Shaoyang, Hunan, China

Li was found dead in a Shaoyang hospital on June 6, 2012. Relatives disputed the official suicide account; the subsequent autopsy, cremation and published findings prompted calls for an independent investigation.

CNHRA-E-044886

2015-07-09 · Multiple locations in China

Wang Yu disappeared from contact early on July 9, 2015. The nationwide action against lawyers, legal assistants and rights advocates became known as the 709 crackdown. Amnesty’s anniversary material preserves an early case chronology.

CNHRA-E-136508

1996-10-08 — 1999-10-08 · China

In October 1996, Liu Xiaobo was detained by police in Beijing and assigned three years of re-education through labor. Contemporary Human Rights Watch reporting linked the punishment to an open letter he co-authored with Wang Xizhe and related public expression. The re-education-through-labor decision was imposed without a criminal trial. According to testimony submitted by Perry Link in 2011, Liu returned from the re-education camp on October 8, 1999.

CNHRA-E-993717

2008-12-08 — 2009-06-23 · Beijing, China

On December 8, 2008, Liu Xiaobo was taken into custody by police in Beijing. A later court judgment recorded that he was placed under residential surveillance on December 9. He was subsequently held at an undisclosed location in Beijing and remained largely isolated from the outside world. On June 23, 2009, Beijing public security authorities formally arrested Liu on suspicion of “inciting subversion of state power.”

CNHRA-E-133969

2009-12-10 — 2010-02-11 · Beijing, China

On December 10, 2009, Liu Xiaobo was indicted on a charge of “inciting subversion of state power.” The Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court tried the case on December 23 and, on December 25, sentenced Liu to 11 years' imprisonment and two years' deprivation of political rights. Liu subsequently appealed. On February 11, 2010, the Beijing High People's Court announced that it had rejected the appeal and upheld the original judgment.

CNHRA-E-523631

2017-06-26 — 2017-07-13 · Liaoning, China

On June 26, 2017, news became public that Liu Xiaobo, who was serving an 11-year prison sentence, had been granted medical parole for advanced liver cancer and transferred from Jinzhou Prison in Liaoning to Shenyang for treatment. The announcement date does not establish the exact dates of the parole decision or transfer. Medical parole did not terminate his sentence or amount to full restoration of his personal liberty; he remained under official supervision while receiving treatment. Liu and his wife, Liu Xia, sought permission for him to travel abroad for medical treatment, but Chinese authorities did not allow him to leave the country. Liu died of liver cancer in Shenyang on July 13, 2017, at the age of 61.

CNHRA-E-684291

2013-07-16 — 2014-04-11 · Beijing, China

On July 16, 2013, Xu Zhiyong was criminally detained in Beijing on suspicion of 'gathering a crowd to disrupt order in a public place.' He was formally arrested on August 22. On December 13, 2013, the Beijing Municipal People's Procuratorate Branch No. 1 indicted him on that charge. The Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court held the trial on January 22, 2014, and sentenced Xu to four years in prison on January 26. Xu subsequently appealed. According to a U.S. Department of State statement dated April 11, 2014, Xu's appeal was rejected and his four-year sentence upheld. The appellate ruling has not been obtained, and its exact date remains to be verified. Human rights organizations raised concerns regarding the civic activities underlying the prosecution, the basis for the conviction, and the judicial proceedings.

CNHRA-E-527418

2019-12-26 — 2025-10-16 · Guangdong and Shandong, China

On February 15, 2020, Xu Zhiyong was criminally detained on suspicion of inciting subversion of state power. He was placed under residential surveillance at a designated location the following day and formally arrested on June 19, 2020. On August 5, 2021, the Linyi Municipal People's Procuratorate in Shandong Province indicted him for subversion of state power. The Linyi Municipal Intermediate People's Court held a closed trial on June 22, 2022, stating that the case involved state secrets. On April 10, 2023, the court publicly announced a sentence of 14 years in prison and four years' deprivation of political rights. The judgment itself was dated April 9. According to a Chinese government reply submitted to the United Nations, the Shandong High People's Court upheld the judgment in November 2023. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention had previously found the deprivation of Xu's liberty examined in its opinion to be arbitrary. Human Rights Watch criticized aspects of the proceedings, while the Chinese government stated that the judicial process was conducted according to law. Ding Jiaxi was taken into custody on December 26, 2019 and sentenced to twelve years and three years’ deprivation of political rights on April 10, 2023. The government’s 2025 reply records the sentence being upheld on November 24, 2023.

CNHRA-E-351872

2012-06-02 — 2012-07-11 · Zengjia, Zhenping County, Ankang, Shaanxi, China

In June 2012, the forced abortion of Feng Jianmei in Zhenping, Shaanxi, drew public attention. Feng and her husband told Radio Free Asia that the procedure lacked her voluntary consent. China’s subsequent reply submitted to the United Nations also stated that local government staff forcibly took her to a hospital for a termination on June 2. On June 26, Caixin relayed Xinhua’s report of Ankang’s investigation: the forced late-term procedure violated applicable rules, and the demand for a 40,000-yuan deposit lacked a legal basis. China’s 2013 reply reported administrative or Party disciplinary measures against seven officials. On July 11, RFA relayed reports of a 70,600-yuan compensation arrangement. This archive has not obtained medical records, the original investigation notice or the signed compensation agreement.

CNHRA-E-673814

2005 · Parts of Linyi Municipality, Shandong

In June 2005, a Citizens Rights Defense Network/CRD report alleged forced abortions, sterilizations, detention of relatives and beatings in parts of Linyi. Its full English PDF contains twelve case groups. An IRB research response later summarized reports of official investigation and restrictions on rights advocate Chen Guangcheng. Institutional findings and reported official responses are attributed separately.

CNHRA-E-418725

2012-06 — 2012-10 · Changsha, Hunan

In June 2012, WRIC documented restrictions on Cao Ruyi and demands to terminate her pregnancy. VOA reported that she and her husband returned home on June 10 while financial demands remained. CECC later summarized the allegations. This record concerns threats and coercion; the reviewed material does not establish a completed abortion. WRIC’s November follow-up reports that she gave birth on October 15; original birth records have not been obtained.

CNHRA-E-267493

2012-04 — 2012-07 · Daji, Xianyou County, Putian, Fujian

In July 2012, ChinaAid published an English translation of Wu Liangjie’s letter alleging that his wife had undergone a forced abortion in April. CECC’s annual report names Pan Chunyan and relays allegations of detention, coerced consent and an injection. These remain attributed accounts, not findings checked against medical or court records.

CNHRA-E-795231

2003-03-17 — 2003-08-01 · Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

Sun Zhigang, then working in Guangzhou, was taken into custody on March 17, 2003, transferred through custody-and-repatriation and treatment facilities, and died on March 20. Nanfang Metropolis Daily brought his experience to public attention on April 25. Contemporary judicial reporting records first-instance and final decisions in June in the intentional-injury case and separate dereliction proceedings. New State Council assistance measures took effect on August 1, repealing the earlier custody-and-repatriation measures.

CNHRA-E-852174

2022-10-13 — 2026-01-09 · Sitong Bridge, Haidian, Beijing, China

On October 13, 2022, a man displayed banners on Beijing’s Sitong Bridge opposing harsh pandemic controls and calling for political reform. Footage showed smoke and a loudhailer protest. BBC reporters subsequently visited and observed police; HRW later described the protester being taken away. Public reporting widely associates him with Peng Lifa, known online as Peng Zaizhou, but early reporting and HRW’s 2024 statement retain identification caveats. A nine-year sentence was reported in July 2025; CHRD expressly could not independently confirm it, and HRW’s 2026 report also uses qualified wording. Original court and custody documents have not been obtained.

CNHRA-E-273861

2020-04-07 — 2026-10-06 · Beijing; subsequent detention location not independently verified

Official notices announced an investigation on April 7, 2020 and Party expulsion and referral for prosecution on July 23. On September 22 the court announced 18 years and a 4.2 million yuan fine for four economic offenses. HRW argued that the case suppressed dissent and questioned procedural safeguards. A 2024 family letter sought medical parole and overseas treatment; CNA relayed further health and treatment concerns in 2026. Original medical records remain unavailable for independent assessment.